Digital giant Apple announced Monday that it will invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. U.S. President Donald Trump thanked Apple CEO Tim Cook in a post on the Truth Social platform.
Apple's plans include building a factory in Texas to assemble servers used in data centers that power artificial intelligence. According to Cook, the investments will create 20,000 skilled jobs.
The money will go to American suppliers, among others, but also to corporate producers who create content for the Apple TV+ streaming platform. Reuters noted that it is not known, however, how much money will go to the digital giant's American suppliers.
“This promise is a political gesture to the Trump administration,” Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, told Reuters. “It’s unclear whether this announcement represents an overall increase in investment” by Apple, Luria added. She noted that this money includes expenses such as administrative costs. During Trump’s first term, Apple made a similar pledge in 2018. At the time, the company said its investments would add $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years.
The Apple CEO’s announcement came a week after he met with Trump. Reuters reports that much of Cook’s company’s products are assembled in China, meaning the new administration’s 10 percent tariffs could increase costs for the company that revolutionized the technology market in the early 21st century.
Apple has moved some of its device chip production to the United States. They will be manufactured in Arizona at a factory run by Taiwanese company TSMC.
As part of Apple's new ventures in Michigan, an academy will be established where engineers and researchers from the local university will conduct free classes on optimizing production processes and project management for small and medium-sized enterprises. (PAP)
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